Edwin Lancelot Orde
Edwin Lancelot Orde (1863-1921) of Armstrong Whitworth
1921 Obituary [1]
EDWIN LANCELOT ORDE was born in Edinburgh on 25th September 1863, and was educated at Marlborough and University College, London.
He served his apprenticeship with R. and W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Co., Ltd., Newcastle-on-Tyne, and became assistant general manager with that firm.
In 1888 he joined Sir W. G. Armstrong, Mitchell and Co., Ltd., as the firm was then known, as assistant to the late Col. H. F. Swan, C.B., and continued in that position until the death of the latter in 1908, when he, with Col. R. Saxton White, V.D., jointly managed the Walker Shipyard Dept. On the recent reorganization of the works he was appointed Commercial General Manager of the Shipyards Dept., which necessitated his residence in London.
He played an important part in the development of merchant shipbuilding, some of the latest vessels launched being more than double the deadweight tonnage of the largest ships built when he joined the Company. For instance, the tank steamer "San Fernando," launched in June 1920, was the largest oil-tank steamer afloat. Several unusual types of vessel were also built under his regime, such as ice-breakers and railway ferry steamers.
During the War he was largely responsible for the design and construction of the train-carrying ferries between Richborough and Calais. He was an advocate of the use of internal-combustion engines for the propulsion of merchant ships, and was closely associated with an early installation of this nature in the S.S. "Abelia."
He contributed a Paper to this Institution, at the Newcastle Meeting in 1.902, on "Liquid Fuel for Steamships" (Proceedings, p. 417).
His death took place suddenly at his residence in London, on 27th May 1921, at the age of fifty-seven.
He because a Member of this Institution in 1902.
He was a Member of the Institution of Naval Architects, the Institute of Marine Engineers, the Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland, and had been President of the North-East Coast Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders.
1921 Obituary [2]
EDWIN LANCELOT ORDE, Local Director and Commercial General Manager of the Shipyard Department of Sir W. G. Armstrong, Whitworth & Company, Limited, died at his London residence on Friday, May 27; 1921.
He was born in Edinburgh in 1863, and was the son of the late Mr. Charles William Orde, of Nunnykirk. He was educated at Marlborough and University College, London, and served his apprenticeship with Messrs. R. and W. Hawthorn, Leslie & Company, Limited, Newcastle-on-Tyne, becoming assistant general manager with that firm.
In October 1888 Mr. Orde joined Sir W. G. Armstrong, Mitchell & Company, Limited, as the firm was then known, as assistant to the late Colonel Henry Frederick Swan, C.B., and continued in this position until the death of Colonel Swan in 1908, when, with Colonel R. Saxton White, V.D., he jointly managed the Walker Shipyard Department. On the re-organization of the works recently, Mr. Orde was appointed commercial general manager of the Shipyards Department, which necessitated his residence in London, travelling between there and Newcastle-on-Tyne every week. He played a valuable part in the development of merchant shipbuilding, and witnessed great progress in the Walker Yard, some of the latest vessels being more than double the deadweight tonnage of the largest ships built when he joined the company. The launching in June 1920 of the tank steamer San Fernando may be taken as a case in point, and this vessel was the largest oil tank steamer afloat. Several unusual types of vessel were also built under his regime, such as ice-breakers and railway ferry steamers.
During the war Mr. Orde was largely responsible for the design and construction of the train-carrying ferries between Richborough and Calais. He was an advocate of the use of internal combustion engines for the propulsion of merchant ships, and was closely associated with an early installation of this nature in the s.s. Abelia. This vessel was built under his supervision, and was propelled by 2-cycle Diesel engines of the M.A.N. type built by the Wallsend Slipway Company. On the formation of the Still Engine Company, he joined the Board of Directors and was appointed chairman. Mr. Orde took a lively interest in politics, and was President for some years of the Jarrow Division of the Unionist Association. He was one of the most kindly, genial, and courteous of men, and he had the faculty of making friends wherever he went.
On April 20, 1892, he married Miss Evelyn Alice Orde, daughter of the late Mr. James Henry Orde, of Hopton House, Great Yarmouth, who survives him, together with his son, Captain Simon Orde.
Mr. Orde was a Past-President and member of the Executive Council of the North-East Coast Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders, and presided over the Victory Meeting of the Institution held last year, when Earl Beatty and Earl Haig were made Honorary Fellows of the Institution. He was part author of the paper "Works Management," and author of the paper "Oil Fuel," read before that Institution. Mr. Orde was also a member of the Institution of Naval Architects, the Institute of Marine Engineers, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, and the Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland. He was an original member of the Institute of Metals.